Gelato shop in Fresno expands into pastries, candies — even as owners look to sell

Gelateria Del Centro, the quaintly inspired Italian gelato spot that opened inside Fresno’s Warnors Theatre Complex last year, is up for sale.

It’s listed for $40,000, which includes the shop’s website and branding and the counsel of the current owners.

“We’d like to empower another small business to take over the spot,” says Jordan Sanchez, a so-called “boomerang,” who grew up in Fresno and returned to the city in 2017 to work at Bitwise. She opened the gelato shop just months after she was fired following the collapse of the tech company.

“I just wanted to create a beautiful space in downtown.”

The interior of the space is all gold leaf and pastels in pink, yellow and orange. It harkens to the shop’s Italian roots and heyday of the theater. Several pieces of decor, including the gold chandelier, were taking from storage at the theater.

Since opening the gelato shop, Sanchez got a job with the city, working as a deputy chief of staff for Mayor Jerry Dyer. In that role, she oversees revitalizing downtown Fresno and Chinatown. One of the reasons she’s looking to step away from the business is to avoid the perception of any conflicts of interest, she says.

Add to that the extra work she’s seen with business partner Tami Waters in their interior design firm Tipping Point: “I don’t have the bandwidth to be as hands on as I’d like to be,” Sanchez says.

At the same time, the business has expanded its offerings.

Earlier this month, it announced a partnership with Cosmic Munchies, which packages freeze-dried candy. The shop now carries several nostalgic choices (Abba-Zaba or Hi-Chew for example) on consignment. It is also working to bring in other local snack vendors, Sanchez says, as a complement to the theater for it upcoming community movie nights.

And within the next week or so, it will begin what Sanchez calls “pop-up residencies” for local cottage bakeries.

The bakers will sell their good out of the shop when it would otherwise be closed; from 7 a.m. to noon on weekdays and 8 a.m. to noon on weekends, Sanchez says. For the bakers, it’s an opportunity to test out a brick-and-mortar location, Sanchez says.

It also creates a synergy with Fulton Street Coffee, its neighbor in the theater complex.

The shop will charge $50 a day and could have a new bakery in every morning, she says.

Lune Wine Bar adds coffee shop, rebrands as Soleil et Lune

Gelateria Del Centro is just one of several downtown businesses that has expanded or taken on new collaborations recently.

Lune Wine Bar recently added hours to its space in the T.W. Patterson building on Fulton Street near Tulare Avenue and rebranded as Soleil et Lune (or sun and moon).

It now serves coffee during the day and wine at night.

“It was just, like, utilizing the space to its full potential,” says Allison Cassabon, who opened the wine bar with her business partner Kellie Lopez last year. Lune was itself a rebranding off-shoot of the pair’s charcuterie board catering company Fig and Honey, which won the Create Here Business plan competition in 2021.

During weekday hours (7:30 a.m.-3 p.m.) Soleil will serve specialty coffee drinks (ice and hot) made with beans from Maripsoa Coffee Company, along with select pastries. On Monday, it started a menu of sourdough baguette sandwiches, made with bread from Max’s Artisan Breads.

Meanwhile, Lune is open 5-10 p.m. Thursday to Saturday, offering wine tastings (a different flight every week) from its knowledgeable staff, which includes a winemaker, Cassabon says.

“A lot of people are trying wine for the first time,” she says.

“Our job is to educate.”

Lune has recently changed its food menu to include less expensive, quick snack items like loaded hummus, stuffed peppers and truffle almonds. It’s also partnered with local promotion company Love the Captive to bring in live music every night.

More coffee + first Fridays at Smokin Woods BBQ

Frida Cafe is still waiting to open inside Fresno’s historic Water Tower downtown.

In the meantime, it has been operating a coffee cart at the Sun Stereo Warehouse on Fulton Street in the Brewery District and has partnered with Joy’s Velitas to open a micro-cafe during the month of August.

The candle maker runs workshops with a changing theme each month.

“The theme of the month was Frida Kahlo,” says owner Joy Alvarado.

“It was just very coincidental.”

Frida Cafe will be open serving espresso drinks and pan dulce from 5-9 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday and 9 a.m. to noon on Sunday, through August. It’s also helping host special events like a “Cafecito y Arte” paint class on Saturday, Aug. 17. Tickets are $65.87 and include art supplies and “freshly made craft coffee.”

Just across the street, Smokin Woods BBQ is looking to expand with indoor seating at its food truck, which opened in a permanent spot behind Tioga-Sequoia’s beer garden in 2022.

The restaurant has also started a First Friday Flavor special, offering an exclusive $5 menu on the first Friday of each month. In August, that menu included six-piece Hennessy BBQ and Lemon Pepper Wings (popular at the restaurant’s location in Oakland), BBQ sliders and $5 rib tips.

This story was originally published August 12, 2024 at 12:03 PM.